The Psychology of Handling Pupils

In a common age, children are admitted to pre-school level when they are 4 or 5 years old. They are taught how to count, to read, to write, to be polite, to respect, to love the nature, to play and socialize with other kids, and to of course show off their talents in different aspects. Children are lovely beings who cry whenever they are separated from their parents. They are cuddly and fun to be with especially in times of playful learning. They have the character to laze when they are tired, but they are not unruly at all when it comes in disciplining them.

In the theory of Psychosocial Stages of Development as authored by Erik Erikson, children developaggressiveness of actions at the start of age 3 until 5. Parents tend to notice that their youngsters manifest the urge to go outside or do more activities that exceed to their limits. At this age, they also tend to initiate some acts and lead some of their playmates, thus they grow with a sense of initiative. They think risking is normal as long as their thirst for experiences is quenched. They surely overlap the punishment they know will strike them. On the contrary, if a child is hindered to step over the line, he or she develops a sense of guilt. A child now is afraid to try things out knowing that a negative reinforcement is waiting for him or her.

Erikson also highlighted that children of school age go through the process of competence, that is, some of them pursue learning to compete with others. Teachers in this developmental stage of the pupils play a very important role as they teach children with specific skills. Aside from language exposure, more arithmetic and mathematical lessons are delivered for a lifelong proficiency in any field of specialization. In the span of 5 until 12 years of age, children’s main source of self-esteem is by gaining greater significance with their peers or groups and they began to consider the need to win approval by demonstrating or performing various competencies valued by the school community and the society. They are more insisting pride whenever they reach the impact of their accomplishments. Thus, these pupils are attributed on growing with industry. If teachers and parents encourage and reinforce these kinds of children for their initiative, they develop the characters of being industrious and confident in attaining their goals over the tasks. Quite the opposite, if the pupils are not motivated or encouraged at all, or if they feel restricted in any ways, they cultivate a sense of inferiority, doubting their own skills, abilities, talents, and most of all, their confidence. This is the seed of failure until they grow older.

Failure is necessary to give balance to the lives of the pupils. Kindergarten and elementary levels are the roots of all the growth of children prior the days of their maturity. However, it is better to consider balance among everything. Without failure, pupils will not understand the quintessence of success. But with too much failure, pupils will definitely lose their good self-esteem until they mislaytheir way towards the competitive edge of the teaching-learning process. Moreover, it is always the duty of a teacher to mold the personality of the children. But it is the mission of a teacher to change their pupils’ lives in a better approach.

Handling pupils is arduous in a sense that whatever happens to them in the school is because of the teacher. But if only teachers will learn to love their pupils like their own sons and daughters, the heart will never cease to understand.